By Jeff Pederson
Pedal Down Promotions
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 24, 2021 – The winningest driver in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing history will have one last fitting salute when the fourth and final Russ Scheffler Tribute Night Presented by KSI Construction Inc. takes to The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Friday, June 25.
Under the direction of co-race promoters Greg Wester and Chad Marquardt, the first two editions of the special Russ Scheffler Tribute event drew a stellar field of 28 Late Models in 2018 and 2019, while 30 Late Models were on hand in 2020 before the event fell victim to rain after the completion of heat races, B mains and non-qualifier dashes.
Three-time and defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland scored the inaugural A-main victory in 2018, while Russ’ brother Rick Scheffler of Waukesha took home the hardware in 2019.
During his 12-year PDTR Late Model career, Scheffler piled up a grand total of 45 A-main victories and 92 overall race triumphs, to go along with a PDTR Late Model division championship in 2007. His overall combined and A-main race victory tallies are PDTR records that still rank well ahead of any other competitor in each of the track’s four regular divisions.
Scheffler, who last competed at The Plymouth Dirt Track in 2016, passed away in September 2017 at the age of 54. Scheffler, who owned and operated Suburban Drywall in Waukesha, a business founded by his late father, George, was inducted into the Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Racing Hall of Fame in 2014.
In addition, to his impressive resume at The Plymouth Dirt Track, Scheffler tallied over 175 A-main triumphs in a Dirt Late Model, while racking up 22 track and series titles, including 10 track championships at the now defunct Hales Corners Speedway, four Wisconsin Dirt Late Model Association (WDLMA) series titles, four Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car (EWSC) Late Model titles at the now defunct Manitowoc Speedway, one track title at the Seymour Tri-Oval Raceway and two Wisconsin UMP Dirtcar state championships.
For the fourth consecutive year, PDTR will honor Scheffler with a special 30-lap Russ Scheffler Tribute Race in the Late Model division with an enhanced purse, including a first-place prize of $2,874, fittingly representing the No. 74 car that Scheffler wheeled throughout his career at PDTR.
As has been in the case in the previous editions of the race, the purse will pay out generously throughout the entire A-main field all the way down to 20th place, which includes a pay day of $350. In addition, teams that do not transfer to the A main will also be compensated nicely for their efforts.
“Since Chad and I started talking about putting together this race to honor Russ in 2017, it was intended to be a limited-run event,” Wester said. “It has been a great four years. I would like to thank all of our loyal sponsors, as well as the drivers and fans for supporting our event over these past four years.
“We could potentially see 35 Late Models or so this year,” he said. “Of course, you never know how many cars might show until the day of the race. I guess we will all see on June 25.”
The special Friday night PDTR program will begin with pit gates opening at 3 p.m. and spectator gates opening at 5 p.m. The driver’s meeting/draw cutoff will be at 5:30 p.m. with racing to begin at 6:30 p.m.
“We want to thank the staff of PDTR and the Scheffler family for allowing us to do this event honoring Russ these past four years,” Marquardt said. “Secondly, we want to thank each and every sponsor for making our event as big as it is. We hope race fans will support our sponsors whenever they can.”
Fans planning to attend have plenty of incentives to arrive early. A Late Model driver meet and greet will take place behind the grandstand from 5 to 5:30 p.m. with many fan giveaways up for grabs as well prior to the start of the racing program.
“In addition to the Late Model driver meet and meet, there will also be a table set up behind the grandstand with free samples of Liquid Nitro Energy drinks, as well as Old World Meats beef sticks and a table with free t-shirts, hats, can koozies and stickers,” Wester said. “We ask that fans only take one item so more fans have something to take home.”
In addition, there will be no driver entry fee for competitors and all Late Model non-transfers will receive $200 with added money available in the Theel Auto non-qualifier dashes.
Purse Sponsors include KSI Inc., Gary Belman Trucking, KW Electric, Advanced Compressor Technology, Bonafide Security Solutions, Professional Plating, Pro Power Racing Engines, TJS Asphalt, Sorce Services, Suburban Motors HD (In memory of Scott Houpt), Ricky Lemmen Motorsport, Oostburg Concrete Products, Complete Water, Gibbsville Cheese, Busch Light, N&S Towing, Oak Creek Automotive, Eisentraut Ag Services, Liquid Nitro/ Quality Freight Rate.com, Old World Meats, Wheels Racing, Waldo Oil, Full Throttle Ink, Central Services Co. Inc., Greg’s Tap, Red Wing Shoes of Sheboygan, Keith’s Marina, Pit Stop Pizza, Goeden Auto Body, C&R Automotive, Lakehouse Bar & Grill, Roger & Dan’s Auto Service, Giebler Chiropractic, B&B Racing Engines, TA Motorsports, Action Powersports and Randy Markwardt.
“We will use the same format that we have for the past the past three years,” Wester said. “Late Model drivers will sign in for their starting spot for the heat race. They will then earn passing points in the heat race. Then they will get lined up straight up based off passing points for the feature.”
Random draws and product prizes available to Late Model competitors will be offered by Go Lithium (one 16-volt lithium battery/charger pack combo), Baileigh Industrial (two 10-inch bench grinders), FK Rod Ends (two $500 gift certificates), Velocita (one gift certificate good for a Sportsman Series driver’s suit), Strange Oval (one gift certificate good for a set of axles), Hooker Harness (one gift certificate good for a set of ratcheting belts), Gorsuch Performance (one complete set (front & rear) of Stop Tech brake pads and two bottles of fluid), Performance Bodies (one $300 gift certificate good for MD3 product), Victory Sign (one gift certificate good for 50 percent off wrap installed), Stone Motorsports LLC (one set of 12-inch LED sky lights), QA1 (one gift certificate good for four QA1 ball joints), MPI (one steering wheel and one $100 gift card), Keyser Manufacturing (one gift certificate good for a Keyser brand radiator), Schaeffer’s Oil (one set of three cases of oil), Swift Springs (two $200 gift certificates), Total Seal Piston Rings (two $200 gift certificates), Baileigh Industrial (three six-inch bench vices), VP Racing Fuels (three $100 gift certificates and three fuel jugs), Champ Pans (two sets of Champ Mats [one large and one small per set]), Wehr’s Machine (two $100 gift certificates) and Racing Optics (two gift certificates good for three sets of tearoffs).
“We are very pleased that 33 Late Model drivers will win a product prize this year,” Wester said.
Additional money for Late Model drivers has been added by In the Bag/Nicole Carlson ($50 cash per heat winner), Gasroots Project/Gary Belman Trucking ($20 cash per lap led in feature), Giebler Chiropractic ($74 cash for leader at halfway), FYE Motorsports/ C&R Automotive ($146 cash for most laps led in feature), In the Bag ($74 cash for highest finishing non open motor car), Roger & Dan’s Auto Service ($100 cash first non-transfer car), Integra Shocks ($150 gift certificate -Hard Charger Award), QA1 ($250 QA1 cash gift certificate-Hard Luck Award) and Charlie Lancour/Glenn & Scott Manthei ($74 cash each for three random feature finishing positions).
There will also be added money in the Theel Auto non-qualifier dashes sponsored by Theel Auto and A1 Appliance Repair and added cash sponsors for feature finishing positions courtesy of TySyd Racing, Tyler Davis Racing, Wes Don Automotive, Mueller Sales & Service, Joey Borth and Brad Mueller Racing Enterprises.
For the first time in the event’s history, those unable to attend the race in-person will be able to view the action live on pay per view at www.Watchfye.tiv.
Also on the card will be the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Grand Nationals and B Mods with A-main trophies sponsored by Cellcom.
“With this being the last year we are doing the Russ Scheffler Tribute, this year’s event is definitely a must-attend race,” Wester said. “Although his is a special event, the regular admission pricing remains the same. For only $15 for an adult admission ticket, you can’t beat that. Let’s pack the stands and the pits one last time for Russ.”
Tickets prices remain the same for the special event with adults $15, kids 12-15 $7 and kids 11 and under admitted free when accompanied by an adult.
The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds is located at 229 Fairview Drive in Plymouth, Wis. For more information, visit www.plymouthdtr.com or check out Plymouth Dirt Track Racing on Facebook.
Pedal Down Promotions is a full-service public relations and media services company devoted to helping clients effectively communicate with targeted audiences through a diverse array of promotional strategies and methods, including press releases, newsletters, profile and feature articles, website and social media content development, printed media, editing and layout, graphic design and book publishing services.
For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com or call 920-323-7970.
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